Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1934 - 1958 of 3750
What a terrible weekend Hillary Clinton had! First she stepped into needless controversy, calling half of Donald Trump's supporters "deplorables." The next day, she gave a mealy-mouthed statement of "regret" -- not for using "deplorable," but for the "half" part. How dopey did that look? But it was the video of her stumbling or nearly fainting when she got overheated at the 9/11 ceremony in New York that looked nothing short of alarming. Let's face it. The "overheated" explanation of her campaign and assurances that she was just fine simply...
It was reported recently that 858 immigrants have been erroneously granted U.S. citizenship. That number has increased. It is now estimated that “mistakes” were made on more than 1,800. The number is a drop in the bucket compared with the yearly number of newly minted citizens. Still, it is a worrisome number. Some of these immigrants seeking citizenship are from countries which pose national security concerns. Some have obtained their new status by fraud. Some did because U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Services did not have enough inf...
California has become a manufacturing “job killer” bastion because of its shackling regulations, high taxes and excessive permitting requirements. Its quagmire of government-mandated programs is accelerating an industrial exodus. In 2009, the Milken Institute reported California lost 79,000 manufacturing jobs in just five years (2003-2007) prior to the “Great Recession.” In contrast, seven other competing states gained 62,000 workers. The report blames the state’s onerous regulations and high taxes for pushing business elsewhere. In 2014, a k...
Elberton project I am the owner of the property in Elberton where Eco Logical Research, Inc., will be installing the bio-engineered bank stabilization project on the Palouse River. I am also the President of the Whitman County Cattlemen’s Association. I would like to clarify erroneous statements in last week’s article regarding the project. Livestock will not be blocked from the river at the completion of this project. We have almost a quarter of a mile of shoreline and the project is a fraction of that length. The project area will be exc...
Donald Trump's speech in Arizona has occasioned wailing and rending of garments among the commentariat and "respectable" people everywhere. At bottom, the cause of the freakout is simple: Trump believes in immigration laws, and the country's elite really doesn't. Minus a few trademark excesses that are too ingrained in the Trump shtick to abandon at this point -- e.g., we are going to build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for it -- Trump's speech was rock-solid on policy. The core of it represents what, more or less, any realistic regime of...
OK, supporters of Hillary -- and for that matter, Hillary herself -- it is YOUR job to convince the voters of the United States not to elect a maniacal, hateful con man to be president. That's your responsibility. It's not up to us to take him on and make your case. By "us," I refer to those in the media, who cling to the ideal that journalists are supposed to be skeptics, and follow the story wherever it leads "without fear or favor," as The New York Times publisher wrote back in 1896. That is our tradition. That "favor" part is the key. If...
The country just commemorated the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. That, of course, was when America was rocked by multiple tragedies. The iconic Twin Towers in New York City were destroyed when two hijacked commercial jetliners crashed into them. The Pentagon was struck by a third jetliner, and a fourth hijacked jet crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers tried to retake the plane and prevent it from destroying another target. Images abound of the attacks. In New York, people are seen jumping from...
China has a new industrial strategy which is capturing attention worldwide. It is striving to become an innovation economy using advanced automation, connected robots and artificial intelligence. China intends to shake the image of just being a nation for low-cost manufacturing. Instead, it wants to be known for producing cutting edge, reliable and high quality products–even making robots. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the Chinese are creating an “industrial internet” which gathers information and uses it acros...
For years, Obamacare supporters have been telling critics of the law to shut up and fall in line. Now, they are urging them to come to its rescue. A key part of President Barack Obama's domestic legacy is sputtering so badly that even the law's boosters are admitting that the federal government needs to do more to prop it up. The Obamacare exchanges were supposed to enhance choices and hold down costs -- and are doing neither. Abandoned by more and more insurers, the exchanges -- once billed as robust "marketplaces" -- are becoming pitiful...
Forget about the anti-everyone-else zealots, the so-called white nationalists who hang on Donald Trump like a hooded robe. They like to refer to themselves as "alt-right," which is all right with Hillary Clinton and her peeps, who argue that the Trumpster has pulled the crazies out of their dumpster and spewed their noxious garbage into the mainstream of politics. He's even made one of their most outspoken haters his campaign chief. Still, Donny responds to her charges with his usual finesse. He's now calling Hillary "a bigot." It's great...
The Palouse Empire Fair starts its annual run today. The fair is a long-held tradition on the Palouse. The tradition itself goes back to ancient times. Fairs were a time to celebrate and give thanks for harvest. It is little different today. This fair is an opportunity to lay aside work, take comfort in knowing that the crops are harvested and to celebrate with others the end of the season. It is also the time to take a deep breath before preparing for the upcoming year. For others, it is a chance to see some parts of rural life they are not...
The flurry of climate regulations coming out of federal agencies is an example of what to avoid. Whether those new rules are based on laws enacted by Congress is questionable. Case in point: American Highway Users Alliance, a diverse group of organizations representing transportation, vehicle manufacturers and energy trade associations, questioned the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) legal authority to impose greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements on state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations. The A...
The influence that Colin Powell has over Hillary Clinton is something to behold. His word is her command. When he tells her to break the law and endanger the nation's secrets, she doesn't hesitate. She salutes smartly and does as she is told. Clinton has been desperate for the moral cover of Colin Powell for her email arrangement since the scandal first broke last year. Now we've learned that Clinton told the FBI that Powell advised her to use private email as secretary of state at a dinner in 2009. This escalates Clinton's email defense from...
Can we stop with the platitudes about celebrating the workers and face the reality of America? For starters, let's do something about the name of this three-day weekend. Instead of Labor Day, let's call it Plutocrat Day or maybe Oligarch Day. Let's face it, fellow beachgoers, what we're celebrating these days is fantasy. No longer can we expect that hard work will pay off, that those who profit from it will share their rewards with those who put their noses to the grindstone for them. Instead, they'll take away the grindstone when they merge...
Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49’er quarterback, does not stand when the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem, is played before a game. He says he will continue to sit during the pre-game renditions of the anthem in protest of the injustices he claims exist in the the country. Specifically, he is protesting the state of race relations and the recurrence of police violence. His refusal to stand during the national anthem has caused some serious conversations. Many citizens object, saying he is disrespecting the country. He is even a...
Guess who was among the first to welcome our Olympic athletes back home from Rio? None other than the IRS. For U.S. athletes, winning an Olympic medal comes with pride, glory – and a hefty federal tax bill. According to TIME, Michael Phelps owes more than $55,000 in federal income taxes for his five gold and one silver medals earned at the recently concluded summer games. That’s a whopping amount even for someone whose net worth is $55 million. The U.S. is one of few countries which does not provide government funding for it Olympians. Mos...
Tim Pool is a fearless social-media reporter who specializes in getting close to the action. It almost doesn't qualify as a protest or a riot if Pool isn't live-streaming from the streets. But he is pulling out of Milwaukee because it is too dangerous for white people. In a carefully stated YouTube video, Pool described the verbal taunts and threats, as well as actual violence, directed at whites. After an 18-year-old male was shot in the neck and extracted by Milwaukee police in an armored vehicle -- Pool identifies the victim as white,...
I've always loved the story about Babe Ruth, negotiating his salary in 1930 as the Great Depression gripped the nation. When told he was being paid a higher amount than President Herbert Hoover, his response was: "I know, but I had a better year than Hoover." Fast-forward to now, when we have French President Francois Hollande declaring that Donald Trump makes him "want to retch." Well, Trump might be forgiven if he wanted to, uh, throw up a snarky response like this: "I had a better year than Hollande." That's a fact. As high as the Donald's...
The great flush of money that swamped Washington State University athletics has come to an end. The department is projected to have a continuing deficit of about $13 million a year. It's the old story of public programs overspending and running out of money. What is one to do? The state found an answer to part of its problem. It was to legalize marijuana. After years of ruined lives and criminal prosecutions, the state decided that perhaps the drug was not as evil as first thought. Besides, it was argued, if it was legalized the state could mak...
Recently, Bloomberg reported that investors in massive data centers are making water availability a critical measurement in their decisions–especially in drought-ridden California. Data centers, giant buildings packed with servers which power our virtual world, generate tremendous amounts of intolerable heat. Traditionally, the centers have large cooling systems which require millions of gallons of freshwater. That’s a big problem because water is increasingly in short supply. For the last five years, California has suffered through severe wat...
Purple Heart Donald Trump was given a Purple Heart medal by a veteran this past week, and I watched him on TV pull the medal out of his pocket and say, “I always wanted one of these, and this was a lot easier.” I do not know of any combat veteran who would say those words as they are out on patrol, in the middle of a firefight, while sitting in a foxhole, or in a bunker during a mortar attack. A soldier receives this medal if they are wounded in combat or your family receives the medal on your behalf if you made the ultimate sacrifice for you...
The Obama administration is entering its final months, but it's never too late to further diminish U.S. influence and discomfit our allies. President Barack Obama is considering adopting a policy of "no first use," i.e., declaring that the United States would never use nuclear weapons except after a nuclear attack on itself or its allies. From Obama's perspective, this change would have the dual advantage of being something he can legitimately do on his own and representing a radical departure in the country's nuclear doctrine. For 70 years,...
There's an interesting debate going on among some liberals, some "Never Trump" holdouts and even some other conservatives. It is a really fundamental question: Can they be personal friends with supporters of Donald Trump? They have decided that Trump stands for bigotry, misogyny and cruelty toward the handicapped – and, in fact, anyone who dares criticize him, even the parents of a Muslim soldier who died defending this country. They've concluded that his backers clearly must share those outlooks, which they abhor, or at least find them a...
This weekend, I had my first opportunity to travel to Steptoe Butte for some sightseeing. I have lived in Whitman County since 2008, but I had never made the trip. The sightseeing did not disappoint, and I could see why this is a popular spot for travelers, photographers, sightseers and others. It is incredible there! I am already looking forward to my next trip. The reason I went to Steptoe Butte with my friends is because it is currently one of my only recreational options for getting outside. I have a fractured ankle, and I am unable to...
The Great Depression was very hard on most Americans. People lost their savings, jobs and homes. Often families were separated because there simply were too many mouths to feed even when moms, dads and kids pooled their meager earnings from odd jobs. Businesses and factories closed and our government struggled to respond. Soup kitchens fed people waiting in long unemployment lines. It is against this setting that fascist Germany hosted the summer Olympics in 1936. It was an extravaganza that was unimaginable for Olympians traveling to Berlin...
